Richmond’s Acts of Faith festival brings spirituality, stage together

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Conventional wisdom holds that January can be a challenging time for theaters, with winter weather and post- holiday fatigue tending to put a damper on attendance. But in Richmond, the period after New Years has become a regular buzz-generator for local companies. Thats because it ushers in the citys Acts of Faith Theatre Festival, a yearly effort by local artists and a number of religious congregations to affirm an affinity between spirituality and the stage.

The festival, now entering its 10th season, was founded by a group of thespians who happened to be practicing Presbyterians. The concept has been embraced by Richmonds theater companies, which now typically plan their seasons so as to open, between January and March, at least one designated Acts of Faith show a play or musical featuring either religious or thought-provoking social and existential themes. Billing itself as the largest faith-based theatre festival in the United States, the Acts of Faith celebration kicks off Jan.12, with a preview evening in which participating companies will present snippets from 18 upcoming productions.

Those shows will include a production of Molieres Tartuffe by Richmonds flagship Virginia Repertory Theatre, as well as a staging of James Shermans From Door to Door by the citys Jewish Family Theatre and Jihad Abdulmumits play The Shootout, mounted by For Our Children Productions, a grass-roots company that tackles social issues from an Islamic perspective. Richmond Triangle Players, a troupe focused on plays that relate to the LGBTQ experience, is hosting the pre-New York tryout of The Mormon Boy Trilogy, by out-of-town author/performer Steven Fales.

The festival started out with just a handful of churches and theater companies participating, and it has exploded, says Jacquie OConnor, managing director of Henley Street Theatre and Richmond Shakespeare, a pair of classically oriented troupes that are in the process of merging. The two groups will present David Davaloss comedy Wittenberg about Hamlet, Martin Luther and Doctor Faustus as an entry in this years festival.

Over the years, OConnor says, the festival has really brought the theater community and the faith community together in a way that is innovative and inspiring, and that furthers the conversation about how art relates to spirituality and belief.

Bringing two realms together

That was the goal of Jeff Gallagher, Daniel Moore, Bruce Miller and a couple of other Central Virginians, who launched the festival in 2005 with support from Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Richmond. (The church is still the festivals convening sponsor. More than a dozen other congregations serve as co-sponsors or advisers.) At the time, they felt troubled by the perception of a disconnect between the theater world and the world of religion, or at least Christianity.

I frequently encounter people who are among my church friends who dont get what I do in the arts, and I encounter people in my artistic family who dont get why I enjoy teaching Sunday school, says Miller, who is Virginia Repertory Theatres artistic director and a practicing Presbyterian. He adds, To me, its so much the same thing, with religious and artistic experience using all the same mechanisms in my psyche and my being.

Around the time of the festivals launch, events from Americas latter-day culture wars had contributed to a sense, among some, that faith and the arts were at odds. Not too much time had gone by, for instance, since a New York theater producing Terrence McNallys play Corpus Christi in 1998 had confronted denunciations from religious groups, and even threats of violence.

There was the perception that if you were pushing the edges of art, you were poking the eye of the faith community, says Gallagher, a playwright-turned-biotech entrepreneur. He remembers worrying in the aftermath of Mel Gibsons controversial 2004 movie The Passion of the Christ that consideration of faith in the public square was going to get increasingly polarized, and do damage along the way and then possibly disappear.

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Richmond’s Acts of Faith festival brings spirituality, stage together

New Space Station HD Cameras: Where They Will ‘Snap’ From | Animation – Video

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New Space Station HD Cameras: Where They Will #39;Snap #39; From | Animation
Canadian company UrtheCast made an agreement with Russia #39;s Federal Space Agency to mount Earth-watching cameras to the hull of the International Space Statio...

By: VideoFromSpace

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New Space Station HD Cameras: Where They Will 'Snap' From | Animation - Video

Private American Rockets Blast Open 2014 & Commercial Space Race with Big Bangs on Jan. 6 & 7

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Seaside panoramic view of an Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences at Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia Eastern Shore. Blastoff for the ISS is slated for Jan. 7, 2014 at 1:55 p.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer kenkremer.com UPDATE Frigid Weather Delays Antares Launch to Jan. 8

The status quo in space flight operations is no more.

Private American rockets are leading the charge of overdue change into the innovative Commercial Space Race by blasting 2014 open with a pair of Big Bang fireworks just a day apart on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7.

A dynamic duo of US aerospace firms SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are each poised to launch their own recently developed private boosters in the first week of the new year and aiming to dramatically cut costs.

And to top that off, the rockets are thundering aloft from two different spaceports located some 800 miles apart along the US East coast weather permitting of course given the monster snow storm and frigid arctic air akin to Mars bearing down at this very moment on the big populations centers of the Atlantic coast region.

UPDATE ALERT Antares Launch just postponed to Wed, Jan 8 at 1:32 p.m.due to extremely cold weather forecast. Back up day is Jan. 9

Both companies are revolutionizing access to space for both government entities as well as commercial companies doing lucrative business in space.

The implications of vastly reducing expenses for space travel and space commerce are far reaching and imperative especially in the face of static and declining budgets mandated by politicians worldwide.

Except for China, which just landed its first rover on the Moon, is investing mightily in space and science and reaping strong economic growth.

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Private American Rockets Blast Open 2014 & Commercial Space Race with Big Bangs on Jan. 6 & 7

FA Cup – Boyata sees red as City held by Blackburn

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Dedryck Boyata was sent off as Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Alvaro Negredo put the visitors ahead deep into first-half stoppage time before Scott Dann equalised ten minutes into the second period.

City were below par all afternoon and were lucky not to suffer a shock cup exit as Boyata was given his marching orders for two silly fouls.

Manuel Pellegrini made seven changes to the side that beat Swansea on New Years day, though the quality and strength in depth at his disposal meant that they were able to field a strong side.

It was the hosts that provided much of the attacking intent throughout the opening half, however. Costel Pantilimon had to be on his toes a number of times to race off his line and clear the danger ahead of the chasing Rudy Gestede.

City began to find their feet as the half wore on, though, and had Blackburn who had pressed high and in numbers penned in their own half for the final 10 minutes of the opening period.

It looked as if the two sides would go into the break on level terms until an unmarked Negredo latched onto Edin Dzekos knock-down at the far post, turning the ball past a helpless Paul Robinson.

The home side started the second half in a similarly positive manner to which they started the first, and were justly level after ten minutes.

Tom Cairneys floated corner was met by the towering Gestede, whose header could only be flapped at by Pantilimon. Dann was the quickest to react, poking the ball into an empty net from four yards.

Bowyer introduced Jordan Rhodes and DJ Campbell late on, and though Boyata was shown a second yellow for a silly foul on the latter, the hosts were unable to convert their numerical advantage into a vital win.

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FA Cup - Boyata sees red as City held by Blackburn